Elden Ring Fans Turn to Summer Game Fest After Quiet State of Play — What to Expect This Weekend

Wednesday's State of Play broadcast delivered plenty of excitement — Marvel's Wolverine finally got a full gameplay reveal, God of War: Laufey showed off its stunning Norse-inspired open world, and Rise of the Ronin landed a surprise PC announcement. But for the Elden Ring faithful, there was one glaring omission: not a single frame of FromSoftware content graced the screen.

The silence was particularly notable given the swirling rumors in the weeks leading up to the event. Multiple leakers had suggested that Sony was holding back a significant third-party announcement, and speculation inevitably turned to FromSoftware — after all, the studio has a long history of exclusive and timed-exclusive partnerships with Sony, dating back to Demon's Souls and Bloodborne.

"I wasn't expecting a full Duskbloods trailer, but I thought we'd at least get a logo or a release window," lamented one Reddit user in the Elden Ring subreddit, where a post titled "Copium levels critical" garnered over 12,000 upvotes within hours of the broadcast ending. "At this point, Summer Game Fest is our only hope."

Summer Game Fest — The Last Bastion of Hope

This weekend's Summer Game Fest showcase, hosted by Geoff Keighley, has become the community's next major checkpoint. Scheduled for Saturday, June 6 at 2:00 PM PT (5:00 AM Beijing Time on June 7), the two-hour presentation is expected to feature over 40 games. Given FromSoftware's track record of using Geoff's events for major reveals — the original Elden Ring gameplay debuted at Summer Game Fest 2021, and the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer premiered at Summer Game Fest 2024 — the expectation is not unreasonable.

So what could FromSoftware bring to the stage? The most likely candidate is a proper gameplay trailer for The Duskbloods, the long-rumored Switch 2-exclusive title that leaked through Nvidia's GeForce database back in 2024. While Nintendo has remained tight-lipped, sources within the industry suggest the game's development has been progressing smoothly and a 2027 release window is likely. A Summer Game Fest showing would make strategic sense — it would generate buzz among the core FromSoftware audience while Nintendo handles its own marketing closer to launch.

New IP or Elden Ring Expansion?

Beyond Duskbloods, there's persistent chatter about FromSoftware's other projects. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki mentioned in a recent interview that the studio has "multiple projects in various stages of development," with at least one being a completely new IP that he is personally directing. Given that Miyazaki typically alternates between smaller experimental titles and larger epics, a teaser for his next passion project — potentially something darker and more surreal than even Elden Ring — could be on the table.

However, an Elden Ring-specific announcement remains the dream scenario. While the Tarnished Edition released earlier this year brought the base game and Shadow of the Erdtree to current-gen consoles, Bandai Namco's recent corporate strategy report hinted at "franchise expansion beyond video games." Whether that translates to anime, merchandise, or — the community's wildest hope — a proper sequel announcement, only time will tell.

What the Community Wants

We polled the Elden Ring subreddit's daily discussion thread, and the results were revealing. Out of over 2,000 responses, 45% wanted a Duskbloods gameplay showcase, 30% hoped for a new FromSoftware IP teaser, 15% were holding out for Elden Ring 2 confirmation (however unrealistic), and 10% just wanted a release date for the announced Elden Ring art book.

Regardless of what actually materializes, one thing is certain: this weekend's Summer Game Fest will be must-watch television for any Tarnished still roaming the Lands Between. And if FromSoftware is a no-show again? Well, there's always Gamescom in August.